Three Kings
Starring: George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Ice Cube, Spike Jonze, Jamie Kennedy, Cliff Curtis, Mykelti Williamson, Judy Greer, Said Taghmaouri, Nora Dunn
Directed by: David O. Russell
Rating: R
Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy
1999

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: As the Persian Gulf War ends, four soldiers (George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Ice Cube, Spike Jonze) set up to steal gold Iraq stole from Kuwait.

Review:
Tim: I always feel like I want to like Three Kings more than I do. The film has a lot going for it- director David O. Russell has serious talent, a great cast is in place, and it addresses the real life situation in Iraq after the end of the fighting. This is a film that should have been a home run, but instead, it's maybe a single after a short blooper past the second baseman. It's not as exciting or good as it needed to be.

The big strength is that the film highlights what a mess the United States left in Iraq upon completion of the Persian Gulf War. Our story begins after the end of the official fighting but before U.S. troops left the country. Throughout the film, we see the horrors innocent Iraqis faced with the prospect of the Americans leaving. Some of those scenes are hard to watch, but it really shows what was happening during that time period. I love the resistance to showing the Americans as the heroes all the time (not that all the servicemen weren't heroes- because they were). The reality was much more complicated, though.

The story is interesting because it's against this backdrop that this treasure hunt story takes place. We have four Americans sneaking away from the rest of the troops in an attempt to find and steal Kuwaiti gold. That's an interesting set up, especially when they run into challenges, as they can't call for backup from the thousands of troops and incredibly advanced military weapons that the U.S. had. It's really just four Americans on their own. Some of those sequences are quite exciting, even if the movie as a whole is a bit on the bland side.

The cast is good, but they are better on paper. George Clooney was fairly good in the lead role, although he only shines in a few scenes. For the most part, his role seems strangely reserved. He doesn't get many opportunities to really act. I left the movie feeling a bit disappointed he didn't get to do more. Mark Wahlberg was fairly good as the #2. At this point, he hadn't developed enough to be able to carry a movie by himself, so he works well playing second fiddle to Clooney. Ice Cube was fine- I didn't have any complaints. I do have many complaints about Spike Jonze. I felt like his acting was quite weak and he was trying way too hard. He is obviously no where near the caliber of Clooney, Wahberg, or even Ice Cube, so he might have been overcompensating. I loved seeing Cliff Curtis and Said Taghmaouri as Iraqis. Jamie Kennedy was annoying more than anything. The film is helped by smaller roles from Mykelti Williamson and Judy Greer. As a whole, the cast was good, but I expected a lot more from them.

One of the biggest issues I had is that the film is not compelling enough to support the 114 minute run time. The film is just too long. About 2/3 of the way through it, I just get antsy. I'm ready for something really exciting to happen. Sure, we have explosions and gunfights, but none of these scenes are especially memorable. We even have characters die and it didn't do much to stir my emotions. This is a film that drains the audiences' energy. By the time the third act comes around, I had very little patience left. Russell has great talent, but needs to work on pacing and creating compelling moments throughout his films.

The conclusion always felt forced and rushed to me. We're told throughout the movie that these four soldiers are pretty selfish- they are looking to steal gold for themselves, after all. Toward the end of the movie, they make a selfish gesture. It's all nice and good, but Russell didn't do a great job of showing us how they got to this point. They are selfish and all of a sudden, have changes of heart. How did they get to this point? Was it the capture of Wahlberg? I never saw real concern from the other characters, save to not leave a man behind. Was it that they bonded with the Iraqi refugees? Where were the scenes that really put that on display? By the time we get to the big decision, it just feels like a convenient Hollywood ending. That hurts the movie.

Three Kings had a lot going for it. Unfortunately, the execution was lacking. I give Russell credit for telling this story, but I also blame him, as he wrote the screenplay and directed it. When I sit down to watch this movie, I feel excited at the beginning, but at the end, I'm just done with it. I wait impatiently for it to be over and just have to shake my head. This movie, by all accounts, should have been significantly better than it is.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Jarhead